Bowling equipment



May 29, 1962 L. LOMBARDI BOWLING EQUIPMENT Filed April 6, 1959 INVENTOR, Z E0 L OHBARD/ J A r TORNE Y United States Patent O 3,036,750 BOWLING EQUIPMENT Leo Lombardi, 907 W. 17th St., Los Angeles 15, Calif. Filed Apr. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 804,180

4 Claims. (Cl. 224-45) The present invention relates to a bowling ball support and carrier of a type which contemplates an open frame work to support the bowling ball while carrying the same or when the carrieris resting upon a foundation.

At the present time, it is customary to provide various devices for carrying a bowling ball. Usually these devices are in the form of a sling or bag and due to the weight of the ball are often subjected to rough usage resulting in damage thereto such as ripping, tearing, etc. Furthermore, slings of this character are usually made of leather and are quite expensive to purchase.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bowling ball support and carrier which is not subject to the defects mentioned for a sling but is economical in cost of manufacture, easily cleaned, not likely to become shabby or dirty, which is substantially unbreakable, of long life and in which a bowling ball may easily be carried or supported when the device of the invention is not in use.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the device of the invention shown supporting a bowling ball;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the device of the invention; and,

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the invention shown holding a bowling ball.

Referring now to the drawing, the invention includes a base member 1, which norm-ally engages the floor when at rest, a bowling ball support or seat member 2 and an elongated barrier or stop member 3.

The base member 1 is substantially an annulus being formed from bar stock, rod or wire material of sufficient strength not to deform under the weight of a bowling ball, the said bowling ball support member 2, being at an angle to the base 1, which underlies the tilted seat 2, as shown in FIGURE 3. The stop member 3 includes two parallel elongated arms 4 and 5 which diverge upwardly from the base member 1, with ends 7 and 8 of said arms received within a connecting piece 6 forming a handle. The said arms 4 and 5 are arcuate in form and curve inwardly so as to have the handle 6 spacedly overlie the bowling ball support member 2, as shown best in FIGURE 3. It will be noted in FIGURE 3 that an axial line drawn through the center of the ball and of the annulus, constituting the bowling ball support member 2 would intersect the handle 6 and be at right angles to the plane of the bowling ball support.

To form my invention, I may use bar stock such as a rod and commencing with the ends of said bar stock, these are bent as at 7 and 8 so as to be received within the longitudinal bore of said handle or connecting piece 6. The arms 4 and 5 of the stop member 3 are now formed by curvedly bending both arms and at the same time causing convergence therebetween followed by bending the roots of said arms at 9 and 10 and forming the annular base member 1 from two substantially semicircular portions. Both thus-formed portions of the rod are then bent at right angles to the plane ofthe base member 1, as shown at 11 and 12 followed by bending the rod to provide an annulus 2, which is the ball supporting seat, the plane of which is at an acute angle to the plane of base member 1. The portions 11 and 12 are secured together by a tie 13, and to assure that the arms 4 and 5 retain their position, I have provided a tie at 14.

3,036,750 Patented May 29, 1962 ice The operation, uses and advantages of my invention are as follows:

The diameter of the bowling ball support 2 is such as to engage a small circle of the bowling ball shown at 15. The acute angle between the base member 1 and the support member 2 shown in FIG. 3 as somewhat greater than 20 is such that the bowling ball does not engage any foundation upon which the base member 1 may rest. Therefore, the diameter of the bowling ball support member will vary in accordance with the diameter of the bowling ball. When a bowling ball is to be suppoited and carried, the bowling ball is placed upon the support member or seat in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3 and upon raising the handle or connecting piece 6, which is at the top of the upright member formed by the arms 4 and 5, the device of the invention will, under gravity, move so that the circular seat member 2 is substantially horizontal with its center directly beneath the handle 6, this due to the fact that the arms 4 and 5 are curved over the bowling ball as shown in FIGURE 3 so that the center of gravity lies in a vertical plane which passes through the center of the bowling ball, the center of the seat member and the center of the hand piece. Such a curvature of the arms 4 and '5 also acts to prevent the bowling ball from escaping from its seat in one direction during carrying, and likewise when the device is resting upon a supporting surface. When the player using the bowling ball deposits the device of the invention upon a supporting surface; i.e., the base member 1 resting upon said surface, the device will assume the position shown in FIGURES 1 and 3 and the bowling ball due to the inclination of the seat member 2 as well as the barrier action of the arms 3 and 4, will not escape from the seat until the bowling ball is raised from its seat by the player.

The ties shown at 13 and 1'4 may bear various notations to identify the owner, perhaps the manufacture of the device, and the tie at 1-4 which has a larger area than tie 13 may be provided with bores or perforations designated generally as 16 through which the strings of bowling ball shoes may be passed so that the shoes may be carried at the same time that the bowling ball is carried. The ties may be formed from metal or other material and secured to the arms 4 and 5 and the portions 11 and 12 in any approved manner.

It is evident that the device is of simple construction, and yet very efficient in use and service.

I claim:

1. A bowling ball support comprising a member tilted at an acute angle with respect to a horizontal floor engaging base and having a generally circular seat of smaller diameter than the ball, to serve as sole support for the ball, an upright member rising from a point adjacent the lowest point of the tilted member curving throughout its length to overlie such member and to clear the ball when seated and rising to a point higher than the upper portion of the seat to serve as means for carrying the support and as a barrier to limit movement of the ball if tilted from its seat in the direction of the upright member, and means underlying the tilted member and connecting the tilted member and the upright member and forming said floor engaging base for the bowling ball support, the top of the upright member terminating at a location intersected by a line extending through the center of said seat and perpendicular to a plane containing the seat so that when the support with the ball in its circular seat is carried by said top, the circular seat will assume a horizontal position with its center directly beneath said top.

2. The support of claim 1 in which the tilted member, the upright member, and the connecting means are integral portions of a single continuous piece of stock of 3 uniform cross-section, and the curved portion of the upright member is of two arms, each clearing the bowling ball when the latter is seated, and the upright member is of two arms alined at their tops to serve as a handle for the support.

3. An open frame comprising an elongated member bent centrally to form a circle tilted at a small angle to a horizontal plane, both ends then bent downwardly to an acute angle to form two proximate short sections, then spaced apart to form halves of a second circle of about the same diameter as the first circle and underlying same, and lying horizontally, then upwardly to form two curved arms both overlying a portion of the two circles, and the ends of the strip finally bent to form alined means whereby the frame may be carried.

4. The device of claim 3 with means for securing together the short sections, means for securing the two arms against separation, and a handle member to telescope the two alined ends of the strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 155,790 Epstein Nov. 1, 1949 1,379,379 Abrahmsen May 24, 1921 1,474,322 Ducorron Nov. 13, 1923 1,584,857 Hobbs May 18, 1926 1,699,935 Warnes Jan. 22, 1929 2,235,986 Ellingson Mar. 25, 1941 2,430,142 Roberts Nov. 4, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 696,574 Great Britain Sept. 2, 1953 

